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Fri 18 Oct 2013 | 02:36
Brian O'Driscoll's incredible skill at training - Lions RAW teaser

28
Comments

It's tradition that after every British & Irish Lions tour a DVD comes out featuring the best of the behind the scenes footage. It's hugely popular every time, and the latest from the 2013 tour, Lions Raw, is released in ten days time. This is a short clip from it.

The documentary comes out soon, with over 2 hours of unseen footage that is sure to be the perfect keepsake for Lions fans. The victorious 1997 tour video is a thing of legend, showing how the team bonded and trained to achieve a famous win, and this years will be no different.

Unrestricted access, covering all ten fixtures with pre-match build up and colourful halftime speeches, the crew worked tirelessly, with the cooperation of team and management, to put together what is being touted as yet another fascinating documentary.

In the short clip above, veteran Brian O'Driscoll is seen at training, nonchalantly controlling a Jonny Sexton chip over the top with his boot, then knee, then casually flicking a no-look reverse pass to Leigh Halfpenny. As you do.

In the clip he speaks about how important it is that every player in the squad plays his role, even if they're not in the matchday 23. It's unclear if this was at the beginning of the tour, or after he was  dropped by coach Warren Gatland for the final Test, but the message stands either way.

We'll be giving away a few copies of the DVD, so keep an eye out for that competition in the upcoming weeks, and feel free to let us know where you think O'Driscoll - despite not being selected for the final Test - ranks amongst the all time Lions legends. Top 5?

Posted By: Grant Constable

28 Comments

  • poldybloom3
    11:56 PM 11/12/2013

    Your comments about Reality's post say a lot about you .The man has a right to his opinion and if you don't agree with it that's fine, but gratuitous insults are totally unecessary and make me wonder just how sober you were when you posted .
    Tip:try to leave your prejudices in the box before your next comments

  • ciaranbrk
    2:45 PM 09/12/2013

    Davies was ball watching and cost the squad in the second test, so to say he had a fantastic tour its absolutely ridiculous. Depends on what you been by success they won the tour but they lost the spirit of the lions.

  • snoop
    6:22 AM 22/10/2013

    I think he is referring to how easy it is to display skills in training compared to during games where there is actual pressure.

  • 10:10 PM 20/10/2013

    Well said. 1st ever lions mid week loss in oz,
    A laughable shame Williams selection and one good win over a team with a player, JOC, who should have been nowhere near an international 10 jersey, arguably the best 10 watching on TV, a pretty crap pack and frankly in complete disarray.

    I bet oz are licking their chops in anticipation for their rematch against the lions, er wales, in November.

  • swing
    6:20 PM 19/10/2013

    But I don't like soccer :(

  • facepalm
    12:53 PM 19/10/2013

    He's not tarnishing his reputation. He'll always be remembered as a classy guy. Ask your average rugby fan what they think of his comments and they'll look at you with a blank face.

    Like I said, it's just a shame that he's had a whiney, toys out the pram type response to someone saying he's not good enough. So uncharacteristic and I wish he and O'Connell hadn't done it.

  • 12:21 PM 19/10/2013

    ...I might not agree with what he said or think it's particularly relevant now but it is actually a well articulated post and your attempt to dismiss it as the "ramblings of a drunk Irish man" is pathetic. Stick to soccer.

  • swing
    8:34 AM 19/10/2013

    There, my friends, are the ramblings of a drunk Irish man.

    TIP: Never log onto rugbydump after a few bevvies on a Friday night

  • swing
    8:28 AM 19/10/2013

    Wish I'd not... it's total nonsense :(

  • 8:24 AM 19/10/2013

    T.L.T.R.

  • finedisregard
    2:42 AM 19/10/2013

    Brian old buddy, are you going to go out like Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith? Barry Sanders or Bret Favre? You were one of the best of all time. Please do this gracefully.

  • reality
    1:28 AM 19/10/2013

    To the three people who negatively commented my post: did Gatland pick the best teams? No, he didn't. Matt Stevens was in the squad which immediately made it a complete joke, Sean O'Brien who was simply the best backrower in the squad didn't get a look in, and Sam anonymous Warburton was picked as captain. Then he picked the out of form Phillips in the third test as well as Jamie Roberts who hadn't played in 6 months if I remember correctly.

    Welsh Osprey, Wilkinson said he wasn't available for the Lions, so I don't see where you're going with that. Williams is retired and was actually picked despite his terrible form in the 2009 Lions tour. I say O'Driscoll deserved it on merit because he was in better form that Jonathon Davies. In terms of stats he had missed less tackles and hadn't less Australia score a try with which they won the second test. As well as that, he had great leadership qualities which the squad was seriously lacking following the loss of O'Connell (and the anonymous Warburton). The fact that 99% of people were outraged at the decision to drop him tells its own story. Facepalm, Davies had a decent tour against the clubs and then was crap in the first two tests. I can't remember the exact statistics, but several missed tackles in the first two tests and zero passes between the centres in the third come to mind.

    Anyway, the matter is: did and is O'Driscoll tarnishing his reputation with unsavoury comments against Gatland? I heard about one interview where he said he resents Gatland for not picking him. Considering Gatland's Welsh bias (realistically Wales is a half-decent team and doesn't have as many super-stars as the media suggests) and the fact that he was a 'temporary' coach to whom the players didn't owe any loyalty, why wouldn't he resent him? I'd be fit to be tied if I was O'Driscoll. And anyway, one article? So bloody what? And he hardly called him a biased idiot; he just said he resents him for not picking him. What's the problem?

  • totesmcgoates
    12:44 AM 19/10/2013

    What does BOD owe to Gatland that he can't be candid when asked the question, "Do you resent him for it?"
    I'm not anti-Gatland, I think he made some great calls for the Third Test. I just don't see why anyone, anywhere can't answer a question honestly.

  • brownie14
    12:20 AM 19/10/2013

    We were also only one missed kick from winning the series 3-0. Gatland picked the best team for the night. And it won. I presume that you are Irish. Stop crying, support the Lions, and get ready for the 2018 tour please.

  • browner
    12:16 AM 19/10/2013

    Concentrate on the finesse of his touch, even 1/2p wasn't expecting the ball !!! superb stuff BoD

  • facepalm
    11:42 PM 18/10/2013

    Silly comment. Of course he can be upset about it. Every player in the world gets upset when they're dropped. Publicly stating you resent a coach because he thought another player was better than you is a totally separate matter. The lions tour does not owe O'Driscoll a final send off.

  • facepalm
    11:35 PM 18/10/2013

    Gatland doesn't owe O'Driscoll a final send off to his career. No one is bigger than the team.

    Anyone with neutral eyes could see O'Driscoll was not putting in the legendary performances he became so famous for. Davies, on the other hand, was having a fantastic tour. With ball in hand he looked like he could spark something and whether you like it or not the same could not be said of BOD. The former master of the game put in solid performances, but showed nothing to warrant selection over Davies.

    Tuilagi was picked on the bench for obvious reasons. As an impact substitute, there are few in the world more explosive than the genetic freak of nature that he is.

    It is a shame he and O'Connell have tried to tarnish Gatland's success. The most striking aspect is the stubbornness of those who jumped on the anti-gatland band wagon to back down.

  • eddie-g
    10:06 PM 18/10/2013

    @ Reality - "O'Driscoll said he resented Gatland for not picking him"

    Well done spotting the problem. The rest of your post, the Welsh bias obsession, is delusional.

    @ TotesMcGoats - "he's not supposed to be upset about it?"

    Nice try. Except no-one said that he shouldn't feel disappointed. No, and these are O'Driscoll's words, he resents Gatland for having dropped him. Do you really want to defend that attitude?

  • totesmcgoates
    9:24 PM 18/10/2013

    So, the most high profile dropping of a player since the Romans put Nero on the bench and he's not supposed to be upset about it?! It was inevitably a big thing in the sports media; I personally reckon that he did well to keep his opinions to himself until after the tour.

  • 9:19 PM 18/10/2013

    Well played.

    Willie John, gareth Edwards, Scott Gibbs, Martin Johnson, guscott did win two series, sure there are others but BOD has to be up there. Sad how it has all played out. Was he right in what he said. Absolutely. Is it unfortunate it came out, absolutely. Should Shane have asked him? Did he put him on the spot. Plain and simple. He was one of the greatest of all time and should have been in the 23.

  • totesmcgoates
    9:11 PM 18/10/2013

    Some ri-Dric-ulous skills on display!!

  • welshosprey
    8:35 PM 18/10/2013

    Deserved it on merit? Stupid thing to say, lets throw shane williams and jonny wilkinson in there too while we're at it haha

  • reality
    7:25 PM 18/10/2013

    So, because he accepted being dropped for what all evidence pointed to was a player chosen through Welsh bias rather than on merit and put the interests of the squad first and didn't make a big deal out of it and ruin the spirit in the camp as many people (myself included) would have done and then months afterwards said that he felt a human sense of resentment towards Gatland for dropping him for the biggest match of his career, in your opinion he's undermining his status?

    Are you actually joking? I think the only person undermined in the situation is Gatland, because he proved that he's a biased, biased coach who was one missed kick away from losing the tour to the weakest Wallaby team in living memory. O'Driscoll said he resented Gatland for not picking him; I resent Gatland for doing it too. He picked a player who didn't deserve to be picked and dropped O'Driscoll for what would have been the greatest match of his career which he deserved to play in on merit. If I was O'Driscoll I would have taken it with far less grace.

  • eddie-g
    6:31 PM 18/10/2013

    He's certainly not in the top-5, not with how he continues to behave toward Gatland. Great player, no doubt, but he's really undermining his legend status with his behaviour now. In fact, it is antithetical to the spirit you normally associate with the Lions, and some day he's going to regret it a lot more than the disappointment he felt at not playing that final test.

  • 6:25 PM 18/10/2013

    A true rugby player who got to his position through having a gift and working hard. I'd love to see if any of the juiced up Goliaths coming through the ranks of English rugby now could do that in the final years of their career.

  • pedro
    5:26 PM 18/10/2013

    Training...
    I snap droppies from half way in training. I once tried one in a game (from a lot closer) but it went out on the full. I did however successfully argue, an attacking kick, therefore the lineout was (slightly) closer to the try line.
    Less egg on face...

  • monsignorrusbucket
    5:08 PM 18/10/2013

    Surely has to be in one of the top 5 players of all time let alone in a Lions jersey!!

  • 4:38 PM 18/10/2013

    Wow!

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